A two member Raccoon assault team again
attempted a raid on my compound, but this time I was ready to shoot
......some photos, one of them hissed at me (First time that happened)
so I just hissed right back, one stayed hidden, but this one was caught
in the open, They seem to have their own night vision eyes goggles....

"Gorgeous" is not a word most people would use to describe a spider _________________May we all get to have a chance to ride the fast one
Walk away wiser when we crashed one
Keep hoping that the best one is the last one

I have some accent lights on my Tiki deck which attract bugs, the bugs attract spiders. Got lots of Western Spotted Orb Weavers this year. This one is pretty close to an inch long, fat and juicy from lots of bugs (crappy cell phone pic)
_________________May we all get to have a chance to ride the fast one
Walk away wiser when we crashed one
Keep hoping that the best one is the last one

I'll start with prefacing that I live on the edge of a large swamp. In that swamp are large amounts of grass and water - bugs are everywhere. And since there are so many bugs, of course there are predators as well. It is the rainy season which means its peak season for bugs and their enemies. Here are some recent photos.

First is of the toad - this thing is huge - as big as your hand. He was hanging around my front door. He lives in the bushes in my front yard. I see him often.

Next are a variety of spiders. Help identifying these would be appreciated.

Golden Silk - Easily 6"

Maybe 2" long

Found this one while cutting some bushes. Maybe 1" wide body and fuzzy

I welcome the spiders. The mosquitos here are huge and could probably fly off with a small child. Anything that eats or kills mosquitos are beautiful in my book. The most annoying spiders are the Crab Spiders - they love to stretch their webs across any open area. You'll be walking along and WHAM spider right in the face! They are small enough that you don't see them till its too late. Fortunately they are not aggressive or poisonous. The toad is a good sign - that means there aren't any big snakes in the area. Some crazy kids lick these toads to catch a buzz - not me!! The curly-tailed lizards are the other nuisance critter that I tolerate because they eat bugs - they are everywhere in my yard!!

"The mosquitos here are huge and could probably fly off with a small child"

That's for sure. I spent a few days in Miami prior to a Caribbean cruise a few years back. I left the hotel window open to get some fresh air and went to sleep. When I woke up there were the 2 HUGE mosquitoes sitting at the foot of my bed. The first one said "Do you want to eat him here or drag him back to the swamp?" The socond one replied "Let's eat him here. If we take him back to the swamp, the bigger ones will take him away from us!"

I had a run in with a wasp this weekend. I was messing around a bush and all of the sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see a wasp heading straight at me. Normally, wasps don't attack - but this guy had other plans. He came at me stinger first and landed a blow on my cheek. Hurt like hell and progressed to my jaw. After the swelling went down I now have a small hole in cheek where the stinger got me. I just feel blessed that it was not one of the Chinese Killer Wasps.
http://butterflies.heuristron.net/pictures/wasps/DSC06088.JPG

This vicious animal visits my urban jungle every day almost without fail. She is one of many but she will literally run down from the tree when I step outside with a handful of treats.
_________________"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann